A court approved this notice. This is not an advertisement or solicitation.
TO:
All single-family residential customers of the Otay Water District any time between
July 14, 2014 and December 31, 2022.
The notice is to tell you about the $12,000,000 settlement of a class action lawsuit, Coziahr v. Otay Water District brought on behalf of people who were customers of Otay Water District at any time between July 14, 2014 and December 31, 2022, alleging that Otay Water District’s single-family residential water rates were unconstitutional. The notice gives you a summary of the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, explains what rights class members have, and helps class members make informed decisions about what action to take.
To see more information about the terms of the settlement, please review the long-form notice, available here: NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT – MAY 6, 2026
In 2026, the parties agreed to settle, which means they have reached an agreement to resolve the lawsuit. Both sides want to avoid the risk and expense of further litigation.
The settlement is on behalf of the customers who brought the case and all members of the settlement class, which includes all single-family residential customers of Otay Water District between July 14, 2014 and December 31, 2022.
The Court previously decided that Otay Water District had charged single-family residential customers under an unconstitutional water rate structure. The Court has not yet decided the amount of the refund that is owed to class members.
| OPTIONS | MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EACH OPTION |
| DO NOTHING | If the evidence showed that you were overcharged under Otay’s single-family residential water rates, you do not need to do anything further to receive a refund. Your refund will automatically be credited against your bill (if you are still a customer) or sent to you (if you are no longer a customer). The settlement administrator may ask you to confirm your contact information and select your preferred method of payment. Not all customers were overcharged. You will only receive a refund if the evidence shows that you experienced an overcharge. If you do nothing further, you will give up rights resolved by settlement. |
| OPT OUT | Get no payment. Allows you to bring another lawsuit against Otay Water District about the same issues. |
| OBJECT | Tell the Court why you don’t like the settlement. |
The settlement provides for $12,000,000 to compensate class members who allege that they were overcharged under Otay’s unlawful rates. The Class retained an expert witness to calculate the amount of the refund owed to each class member, based on the difference between the amount each class member actually paid between July 14, 2014 and December 31, 2022 for their single-family residential water service, and the amount that class member would have paid if Otay had not charged unlawful rates. Each class member who was overcharged based on that calculation will automatically receive a refund based on the amount of the refund that the expert calculated.
Not all class members experienced overcharges, and those class members who were not overcharged according to this calculation will not receive a refund under the settlement. All class members received the benefit of Otay changing the water rates that were in effect during this period.
Opt-Out Deadline: July 3,2026
Objection Deadline: July 3,2026
Settlement Approval Hearing: July 31, 2026, 9:00 am.